Former helicopter pilot becomes first U.S. transgender TV reporter

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Reporter and former TV news helicopter pilot Zoey Tur has joined U.S. television program "INSIDE EDITION" as a special correspondent, becoming America's first transgender TV reporter, according to a news release.

Tur, formerly known as 'Chopper Bob', rose to fame for the live coverage from his helicopter of the 1994 police chase on Los Angeles freeways of fugitive American football star O.J. Simpson, charged with the murder of his ex-wife and her friend.

"We are thrilled to have Zoey join "INSIDE EDITION" as Special Correspondent and make some TV history,” executive producer Charles Lachman said in a statement.

Tur, who won three Emmy Awards during his career as a broadcast reporter, also covered the Los Angeles riots in the early 1990s.

Tur completed the physical transition from male to female in the summer of 2014.

"There's diversity in nature, so why not the media? I want to thank "INSIDE EDITION" for their support in what's shaping up to be America’s last civil rights fight," Tur, 54, said.

In September last year, an Indian television news station recruited the country's first transgender news anchor, five months after a court ruled that transgender people be recognised as a legal third gender.